Tempur Sealy taps Taylor as first AOR since 2013 combination

Coming off the 2013 merger of Tempur-Pedic and Sealy, the combined bedding provider has named Taylor as its first AOR as one company.

NEW YORK: Bedding provider Tempur Sealy has selected Taylor as its AOR after a competitive review.

Account work began last month, following an RFP process that ran from March to June. Six agencies were considered in the search, which was comprised of three rounds. The process included Tempur Sealy representatives visiting the firms’ offices to learn more about them, a written submission from the agencies, and formal presentations, said Mark Beal, managing partner at Taylor.

Beal and Terry Brophey, Tempur Sealy’s VP of integrated marketing, declined to share the names of the other firms that were considered.

Taylor is not launching a campaign immediately, but Beal said the firm is working across the company on corporate initiatives, as well as individual brands. The company includes the Tempur, Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic, Optimum, and Stearns & Foster brands.

"We will be developing the narrative and the campaigns and activations to support those narratives, leveraging key moments throughout the year for those brands, and also leveraging any and all assets they might have," said Beal. "For instance, Tempur-Pedic just became a sponsor of the PGA Tour, so we will be working on activating and leveraging that for them."

Beal is leading a team of six staffers from Taylor on the account, but he said that number may change if others are asked to contribute.

The relationship with Spong ended in December, while the company’s business with One Simple Plan culminated in July.

"One Simple Plan was delightful to work with, but they are pretty small, so [it] didn’t have the bandwidth to cover all of our brands," said Brophey. "They have been helpful in passing the baton to Taylor."

Brophy explained that a number of changes happened in the company’s marcomms department in December, when the marketing departments of Tempur-Pedic and Sealy merged.

Taylor had not previously worked with a client in the bedding category, Beal said.

"We were looking for strategic partnership, and Taylor fit the bill," said Brophey. "The fact that this is their first time working in this category wasn’t a negative in our eyes."

To prepare during the RFP process, Taylor spoke to Tempur Sealy retailers across the country and conducted a nationwide survey on Americans’ sleep habits and purchasing behavior.

"There is a great opportunity here from a marketing standpoint for Tempur Sealy brands such as Tempur-Pedic to change consumer behavior as it relates to conducting research, purchasing, and thinking about the quality of their sleep and prioritizing it more," said Beal. "We want to create that shift that currently isn’t there."

Tempur Sealy reported last month that second-quarter sales were up 8.2% to $715 million. Its net loss in the period was $2.2 million.